Kroger reaches out to Midtown Memphis to help plan store

The new Kroger will be located in the foreground, west of the original grocery, facing east.

Kroger is receiving positive reviews from neighborhood leaders for the company's approach to planning a new grocery in design-conscious Midtown.

The company this week hosted about 20 people from neighborhood and other organizations to ask for ideas before it starts designing a larger store to replace the old one at 1761 Union.

"I think their architect and the people that represented Kroger listened to our ideas," said Christina Hall, who chairs the Landmarks Committee for the adjacent Central Gardens Association. "I feel they intend to incorporate the ideas and they'll get back to us to show us some of the things they've done with that. I feel they were extremely responsive to our concerns for the area."

Baker said Kroger executives "made it clear from the beginning they know it's a special area and they plan to build a special store."

She was "real impressed" that the project designer for Kroger — Midtowner Brad Schmiedicke of Pickering Firm — said he believes the appearance and urban feel of the Union streetscape is not beyond saving, and that whole-block developments like the one Kroger plans are key to making Union great again.

The Kroger officials and architect also showed the neighborhood representatives photographs of other Kroger stores across the nation that were specially designed to fit in an urban setting instead of a suburban one.

The meeting was held Monday evening at Kroger's regional headquarters in East Memphis. "It was absolutely wonderful," Charles "Chooch" Pickard, executive director of the Memphis Regional Design Center, said of the session. "I'm thrilled that Kroger and its architect and engineers want to work with the neighborhood to make sure it's pedestrian friendly and designed well and fits in the neighborhood.

"And it's everything that CVS is not."

Kroger will demolish and rebuild on Union like a United Methodist/CVS alliance did nearby in 2011, but that's apparently where the similarities end.

Instead of fighting surrounding neighborhoods, as did the church and CVS, the grocery company is embracing those same neighborhoods early in the planning process.

Some Midtowners fought to save the historic church that stood at Union at Cooper; others pressed to have the new CVS building designed for its urban setting instead of a suburban one. They were unsuccessful; some vowed to never patronize the CVS store.

Kroger is mindful of the baggage CVS carries and does not want to alienate its customers, spokesman Joe Bell said.

"Bottom line: For us to be successful in the Midtown area, we need a whole lot of people in that area pleased with the store we are going to build," Bell said.

To make room for replacing the 30,000-square-foot grocery, Kroger must raze four buildings. But apparently none is an issue for preservationists. Instead, the main concerns are whether the new, 50,000-square-foot building and parking will fit with efforts to restore walkability to Midtown streets, the use of materials and landscaping, and a greater variety of food products offered by the store.

Among the buildings to be razed is the high-rise Belvedere Apartments, and it cannot be touched until the last residents leave next spring, Bell said.

The development site fronts about 220 yards of Union, from LeMaster to Idlewild. The only design decisions Kroger has made so far are to put a basically square, east-facing building on the west end of the property.

"It's unusual in Midtown to get to design an entire block," Bell said. "We get to help Midtown with the entire block. We hope to build something there that sets the tone for the area. When other businesses come in they can say, 'There's the pattern we want to follow.' That may be utopia on our part, but we think we can get there."

Kroger officials will likely meet again with neighborhood leaders in February or March to show some design concepts, Bell said.